Research reportInhibition of propofol on single neuron and neuronal ensemble activity in prefrontal cortex of rats during working memory task

- Propofol anesthesia caused short-time working memory dysfunction.
- Propofol anesthesia inhibits single neuron activity in prefrontal cortex.
- Propofol weakens interactions within neuron ensemble in the prefrontal cortex.

Working memory (WM) refers to the temporary storage and manipulation of information necessary for performance of complex cognitive tasks. There is a growing interest in whether and how propofol anesthesia inhibits WM function. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible inhibition mechanism of propofol anesthesia from the view of single neuron and neuronal ensemble activities. Adult SD rats were randomly divided into two groups: propofol group (0.9 mg kg−1 min−1, 2 h via a tail vein catheter) and control group. All the rats were tested for working memory performances in a Y-maze-rewarded alternation task (a task of delayed non-matched-to-sample) at 24, 48, 72 h after propofol anesthesia, and the behavior results of WM tasks were recorded at the same time. Spatio-temporal trains of action potentials were obtained from the original signals. Single neuron activity was characterized by peri-event time histograms analysis and neuron ensemble activities were characterized by Granger causality to describe the interactions within the neuron ensemble. The results show that: comparing with the control group, the percentage of neurons excited and related to WM was significantly decreased (p < 0.01 in 24 h, p < 0.05 in 48 h); the interactions within neuron ensemble were significantly weakened (p < 0.01 in 24 h, p < 0.05 in 48 h), whereas no significant difference in 72 h (p > 0.05), which were consistent with the behavior results. These findings could lead to improved understanding of the mechanism of anesthesia inhibition on WM functions from the view of single neuron activity and neuron ensemble interactions.